Machine for handling and closing costume jewelry links



June 8, 1954 G. CAPELLAZZI ET AL MACHINE FOR HANDLING AND CLOSING COSTUME JEWELRY LINKS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 14, 1951 INVENTORS Gmno CAPELLAZZI y HBRMANN fi'r'semmsn June 1954 G. CAPELLAZZI ET AL 2,680,344

MACHINE FOR HANDLING AND CLOSING COSTUME JEWELRY LINKS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Tiled March 14, 1951 INVENTORS GILDO CAPELLAZZI y HERMANN sTEqMAlER AJJJEAF) June 1954 G. CAPELLAZZI ET AL 2,680,344

MACHINE FOR HANDLING AND CLOSING COSTUME JEWELRY LINKS Filed March 14, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS' GILDO CAPELLA'ZZI y HERMANN SIEGMAIER Patented June 8, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MACHINE FOR HANDLING AND CLOSING COSTUMEJEWELRY LINKS Gildo Capellazzi, Brooklyn, and Hermann Stegmaier, Flushing, N. Y., assignors to Rhine- Craft Company, Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 14, 1951, Serial No. 215,542 3 Claims. (01. 59-27) This invention relates to a machine for link- Fig. 12 is a vertical sectional view on line ing together costume jewelry-pieces, and, more I 2|2 of Fig. 2. particularly, toa machine for handling and clos- Fig. 13 is a horizontal sectional view on line ing costume jewelry links of the type disclosed I 3-l 3 of Fig. 3. in our co-pending application Serial No. 215,541, Fig. 14 is an enlarged sectional view on line filed March 14, 1951. l4-l4 of Fig. '7.

The links disclosed in our said co-pending ap- Fig. 15 is a perspective view of an earring havplication consist of breached wire circles which ing its portions connected together by a link are held together in bar form by a suitable cement pressed to a closed position by a machine conand which are readily removable from the bar 1. structed in accordance with the present invention. seriatim to be closed to join together a pair of The machine for closing costume jewelry links,

costume jewelry pieces. according to the present invention, includes a,

One object of the invention is the provision base from one end of which a post 26 projects of a machine for removing the links from a said vertically. Fixed on the post 26 near its upper bar seriatim for feeding the links to a gripping s single acting spring is a return compressed air means and for closing the links as they are held press 21 having an intake line or hose 28 and in said gripping means. a piston rod 30 which isv forced downward by Another object of the invention is the procompressed air and restored upward by a spring vision of dual means for shifting the links anguin known manner.

larly accurately to position the links in said 2 Mounted on base 25 is a frame plate 3| above gripping means. which a second plate 32 is spaced by corner posts Still another object of the invention is to con- 33, said plates 3| and 32 having mounted bestruct the means for feeding the links to the tween them a double acting compressed air press gripping means in such manner that the accurate 34. The press 34 is provided with upper and angular positioning thereof is maintained. -35 lower air intake tubes 35 and 36, respectively, For further comprehension of the inventionjE-i which provide for positive movement of the cyland of the objects and advantages thereof, referinders piston rod 3"! in either vertical directions, ence will be had to the following description see Figs. 8 and 12. and accompanying drawings, and to the appended Compressed air presses such as those indicated claims in which the various novel features of the 30 at 21 and 34 are extremely well known and availinvention are more particularly set forth. 5i able in many different sizes from Air-Mite of In the accompanying drawings forming a ma- Chicago, Illinois, and, therefore, it is not deemed terial part of this disclosure: necessary to illustrate or describe their internal 1 is a side elevational view of the machine construction. of the invention. 35 The piston rod 31 of the press 34 extends up- Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the feeding and ward through aligned openings in the plate 32 and gripping portion of the machine. in a plate 38 secured atop the latter and has an Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of said feeding upwardly extending feeder bar 40 secured to the and gripping means. upper end thereof in any suitable manner, said Fig. 4 is a plan view of said feeding and grip- 4g feeder bar extending upward within a housing ping means. block 4| fixed in the opening of plate 38. Hous Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one jaw of the ing block 4! is suitably hollowed out and cut gripping means. away as shown to receive a facing block 42 which Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the other jaw of is secured thereto by screws 43 and which has the gripping means. in its inner face an accurately cut vertical groove Fig. 7 is a perspective view of link straightening" 44 in which feeder bar 40 slides. Preferably a means. plate 45 is extended across groove 44 above its Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a link feeding center to prevent lateral movements of feeder device. bar 40, see also Fig. 5. Below plate 45 the longi- Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a unified bar of tudinal center groove 44 is deepened to form a said links. lubrication wall 46. At its upper end block 42 10 is a d agrammatic view showing the a r tapers somewhat and has its upper edge formed lines for operating the compressed air cylinders into a concave are as at 41. Also the stock at of the device. either side of the upper end of groove 44 is cut Fig. 11 is an enlarged sectional View on line away so that the nose 4! forms one jaw of a ll-ll of Fig. 2- gripping device whose other jaw is the concavely 3 arcuate upper edged nose 48 of a lateral and upward extension 55 of a block pivoted to housing 4| at its lower end, as will be described presently.

As bestshown inEig. 12, the face-of extension 50 abuts the groove 44 and the nose 4:8 thereof is positioned to cooperate with nose 41 to grip an article fed up through said groove by feeder bar 40, see also Fig. 6.

Near its lower end, block'i'il isprovided with a bore 52 in which is journably mounted a sleeve 53 through which a molt-54 extends into the housing. Block 5! and fits:extension-.5il .are thus pivoted to said housing :and nose A8 is :capable of being swung away from nose 41 to free an article held between the :two. In .order to maintain nose 41 in gripping position a rod 55 extends rearward from the block 5| and near its free end has a depending rod 55 secured therei 10- 1Coiled about :depending :rod 55 is a :coiled spring 51 which acts against plate 538 andzagainst the :rod 55 to :rock block :51 to :normal position, that is, the position in which ggripping nose 58 is .adaptedito cooperate with (nose :41.

Extending rearwardly from Ehousing H .at a slightangieis a-bar .55 'whichis supported by an Librachet :50 .and has a. .generally circular cross- :section with the-upperzportion thereof cutaway .in :a horizontal plane. Located in :the :upp er edge :of .said :bar 58 is alongitudinal groove :6! which is ecircular :in form and has substantially less than 180 of its periphery opening .onsaid upper :edgegseei'igs. L142and-*8. Adapted to the groove ifiil .are long :series :of wire :links 6-2 having .the same configuration 3813118 groove and arranged cemented together relationship, :see also Fig. 9. The bars of links 132 preferably are carried on a rod 53 with which they :are inserted into the open .end .of :groove 51, after which the rod 2'63 .is :removed.

After :removal of the :rod 53, a follower 64 .is inserted-into the groove :51 doehindrsaid links and acts Ito .:move the latter toward the housing 41. Follower 16 i is pulled along my-arstring or cord zii5 which is threaded over suitably mounted -.pulleys 66 and =61 :and issecured to :a counterweight 68 which provides the motive power for the follower. The groove 5| extends clear to ithegroove '44 in ia'cing block 42 described above so thatas iollower fi'd pushes'them :forward, the :links 162 are detached one :by one and raised to the gripping noses-'41 and AB-bythe tfeederbar 55.

In order to assure that the breach of each linktBZ is:positioned'verticaliyffor feeding-by bar :40 :the following means are :provided, see .Figs. 2,112 and 14. A plate is secured atop 'bar 53 .at the forward end thereof by screws 11 and has the rear edge 12 thereof undercut :onan incline. Thus, as the links .52 are :Eedzalong in groove '55 they pass beneath said incline and :if :the breach therein is not centered vertically, the links are cammed :to the proper angular position. The -.plate :10 extends abeneath ithe extension 50 of block :51 andhas its iorward .edge-cutat an angle toparallel the same withithe grooved face of faczing 'block 42. :Said angled edge :is provided with :a Elongitudinal groove 213 in whichsa thin rod or zpin '14 is "located. iii-spring 1.5 located :in :a well at the base of groove =13 tends "to project the rod out .of the groove. As best :shown -.in Fig. 12, the action of :spring 15 forces .rod 14 partly out of the groove and against facing block 42,"said rod spanningieed groove M. this point it is to Joe remarked that groove M is slightly shallower than the thickness rDf :the Jinks "52, so

that as the former are fed upward by feeder bar 49 they must of necessity contact the rod 14.

The construction is such that a link 62 fed into groove 54 by follower 5:2 is moved upward .by vfeeder bar 55, during which movement it engages rod 14 and forces the same back into groove 13 against the tension of spring 15; and if the link is not positioned with its breach centered vertically, the engagement thereof with saidrodrro'tates the link to the proper position.

To further insure that the links 62 move upward with their breach centered vertically, the :side :of the extension 55 facing the block 42 is :formed ,midway o'f its height with a transverse groove in whicha short rod is positioned, see Figsfi-and 12,;and which is resiliently urged into an extended position by a spring 9! housed in :a well *formed in the extension 5i). Thus, the rod functions exactly as the rod 1:2 does to turn the 162 to center their breach vertically intheeventany rotation of the links should take place between the time that they leave the rod -14.and reach the rodfili.

Referring again "to Fig. 8, the upper edge of feeder bar 55 is cut away toiori'n a concave seat 16 for engaging the links 52. Also 'to prevent inadvertent rotative movements of the links after they pass the rod 14 and 95, seat 15 is provided withserrations or teeth 11.

The construction is .such that feeder bar til moves the links upward .one hy-one to the gripping noses 41 andt which hold the same under .tensionof spring 5-1. The face :of extension 55 is, of course, -"suitably formed to allow a link .62 moving upward ingroove-M toc'n'n the same outwardly a short distance. While a linliis held between gripping noses and dfi with the feeder (bar-ill! -still engaging the same, the :pair of jewelry pieces that are to be connected by the link are engaged over opposite sides of .the latter and the press 2:1 is actuated .to close the same. The rmeansoperated by the press 21 to-closethe-links "consistsof a-chuck which is mounted on the piston :rod siiiiof thepress asshewn in Figs. -1 and -In-.obvious manner-depression of chuck 3.8 onto iailink tifi held bynosesA-i and iacloses the same.

:Aclosed link is removed from gripping noses -52? :and 2.3 by the next link fed upward by the rfeeder bar to.

It will readily beseen, therefore, that means :iszrequired to operate "the lower press i'to raise feeder bar 58 and maintain .the same in raised position, to operate cylinder 21 to depress chuck E8, and to operate the press 55 in reverse to lower .i'eed'bar ln 'to pick upanother link 52.

Means to these ends-are extremely well known iandthe diagrammatic showing thereof in Fig, 10 is deemed sufficient for a full knowledge of the :invention. The air tubes 35 and 35 for operating the press 3 in opposite directions, are con- :nectedto afoot-switcher valve 89 which is operable in either of two directions to connect one "or :the other :of said tubes to a main tube 81 leading to a source of compressed air such as :a :tank 82. Tube 28 for upper press 21 is connected to a foot switch or valve 33 which in turn :isconneeted to tank 82 by a tube 34.

It will readily be seen that to obtain the re- Lquired sequence of operations described :above, all that is required is to operate valve 85in one direction, operate'the'valve :83 and then operate valve 813 in the opposite direction.

In Fig. 15, there is illustrated an -earring 55 which has its uppeinear-engaging portion 95 com nected to a lower pendant portion S11 "by means of a link 62 pressed to a closed position by a machine constructed in accordance with the present invention.

While we have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of our invention, it is to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to the precise construction herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine for closing round breached costume jewelry links, the combination of gripping means for'holding a round, open link in a position to be closed, said gripping means having a vertically extended groove in which said links are to be fed to said holding position, a chuck for closing the breach of a link held at said position, power means for operating said chuck, a feed bar vertically slidable in said groove to feed a link vertically in said groove to said holding position, means for operating said feed bar, and means for feeding links one after another into said groove to be fed upward therein by said feed bar, said gripping means comprising a fixedly mounted block having said groove, and a yieldable pivotally mounted block facing said fixed block and having an extension for closing the top portion of said groove and a pair of spring operated rods positioned in said pivoted block and adapted to correctly orient said links.

2. In a machine for closing round breached costume jewelry links, the combination of gripping means for holding a round, open link in a position to be closed, said gripping means having a vertically extended groove in which said links are to be fed to said holding position, a chuck for closing the breach of a link held at said position, power means for operating said chuck, a feed bar vertically slidable in said groove to feed a link vertically in said groove to said holding position, means for operating said feed bar, and means for feeding links one after another into saird groove to be fed upward therein by said feed bar, said gripping means comprising a fixedly mounted block having said groove, and a yieldable pivotally mounted block facing said fixed black and having an extension for closing the top portion of said groove, and resilient means urging said pivotally mounted block into an operative position and a pair of spring operated rods positioned in said pivoted block and adapted to correctly orient said links.

3. In a machine for closing round breached costume jewelry links, the combination of gripping means for holding a round, open link in a position to be closed, said gripping means having a vertically extended groove in which said links are to be fed to said holding position, a chuck for closing the breach of a link held at said position, power means for operating said chuck, a feed bar vertically slidable in said groove to feed a link vertically in said groove to said holding position, means for operating said feed bar, and means for feeding links one after another into said groove to be fed upward therein by said feed bar, said gripping means comprising a fixedly mounted block having said groove, and a yieldable pivotally mounted block facing said fixed block and having an extension for closing the top portion of said groove, and resilient means urging said pivotally mounted block into an operative position, said pivotally mounted block being pivoted to a fixed part of the machine, said resilient means comprising an expansion spring operating between said fixed part of the machine and a rod extending from said pivotally mounted block and a pair of spring operated rods positioned in said pivoted block and adapted to correctly orient said links.

References Cited in the file of thi patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,652,032 Lynch Dec. 6, 1927 2,256,265 Morrow Sept. 16, 1941 2,257,509 Morrow Sept. 30, 1941 2,266,864 Hausknecht Dec. 23, 1941 2,498,031 Diess Feb. 21, 1950 2,543,834 Davis Mar. 6, 1951 2,621,343 Fray Dec. 16, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS v Number Country Date 635,722 Germany Nov. 13, 193% 

